Windshield cleaner



Aug 25p 1924i A. S. NOONAN WINDSHIELD CLEANER 1921 3 SheetS-She l Filed Nov. 9,

Aug, 2.6, @2%

A. S. NONAN WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed Nov. 9, 1921 3 Sheets-521692. 2

narran mail ALBERT S. NQGNAN, OF ."PEI-HLADELFHELA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSEG'NGR FOSS- HUGHES CQJCBMTY, DE EHILADELPHM, PENNSYLVANIA, ,di GRPORATEN @F FNNSYLVLNL AND IASSACHUSETTS.

YVENDSHIELL CLEANER'.

Application 'tiled November t?, 1921. Serial No. 513,939.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, ALBERT S. Noonan, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented a Windshield Cleaner, of which the following is a specication.

@ne object or this invention is to provide a device for automatically removing water, particles oic moisture, sleet, dust, or the like, from the surface of a wind shield or similar transparent structure such as is commonly employed in a motor vehicle and the invention especially contemplates a novel mechanism for continuously recipro-l cating a cleaning member across the wind shield surface.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for supporting -and reciprocatin a cleaning bar onthe surface of a wind s ield whereby said bar shall be alternately moved in opposite directions by mechanism which shall be so mounted as not to interfere with the adjustment or the wind shield to various angles.

ll further desire to provide a wind shield cleaning device with a novel form of automatically reciprocable carriage for supporting.' and actuating aclea'ning member, together with novel means for transmitting movement to the carriage and automatically reversing the direction of such movement at the opposite ends of the wind shield or at any oi a number of points intermediate said ends. l

it is further desired to provide mechanism ci the above class which shall be simple, reliable, compact and substantialV in construction.

These objects and other advantageous ends it attain as-.hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. i is a front elevation partly in vertical section, illustrating a wind shield equipped with my invention;

Fig. 2 is anel'evation oi one end of the wind shield and the associated parts shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is a plan or" the wind shield and apparatus shown in Figs. l. and .2;

b ig. die a fragmentary elevation of that end oft 'the wind shield opposite 'that shown Fig. 5f;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5, Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a fullsize section on the line 6 6, Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one end o the top member of the wind shield including a perspective view of the bearing normally associated therewith;

F ig. 8 is a perspective view loI0 the movable carriage forming part of my invention;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of one end of a diamond screw for actuating 'the carriage shown in lig. 8; and

F ig. l() is a perspective view oit the nut used in connection with said carriage.

lin the above drawings 1 represents the forward edge of the roof or cover of a motor vehicle having associated with its ends two fixed frame members 2 and 3, between the upper ends of which entends a transverse frame member 4 immediately under the forward end of the roof structure 1 with which it forms a tight joint. lin the present instance this transverse trame member is hollow and while being of substantially rectangular cross section, has its lower sidemade concave with a cylindrical'curvature for the reception of the cylindrically curved upper side of the top :trame member 5 of the wind shield proper.

Said shield' in the present instance consists of a sheet or plate 6 of' relatively heavy glass whose top edge extends into a recess of rectangular section formed in theunder face ofthe frame member 5 and which in addition has side trame members 7 and 8 and a bottom frame member 9. This frame structure 5-9 with its glass plate is mo'vably supported by the iX'ed side frame members 2 and 3, `for which purpose the member 5 is constructed at its ends as shown in l? ig. 7, with projecting portions l0 constituting trunnions and the latter are made up not only of the cylindrically curved projecting extremities oit the member 5, but also each includes a block 11 fitting into the suitably formed extremity and forming with the same the desired cylindrically curved trunmon.

rlhe blocks with the extremities l0 ot the -irame member 5 rotatably nt into bearings provided in the enlarged head portions 12 two sprin tending slot 22 forme on the side frame members 21and 3 respectively and these heads are each split or slotted as indicated at 13 (Fig. 4) so that bymeans of suitable thumb screws 14 they may be tightened on the trunnions of the wind shield frame member 5 to clamp it in any adjusted position.

J ournalled in the blocks 11 and extending longitudinall through the'hollow interior of the top rame member 5 of the wind shield is a shaft 15 whose body 16 is formed to constitute a diamond screw and one of whose ends projects beyond the frame mem-y ber 3 where it has fixed to it a bevelled gear 17. Meshing with this is'a bevelled pinion 18 driven from the armature shaft of an electric motor 19 mounted onand carried by said frame member -3 and two coacting gears 17 and 18 are inclosed by a casing20 also carried on said bar.

A Within the top wind shield member 5 is mounted a carriage or traveling member 21 slidably mounted on the threaded body of the shaft 15 and havin a longitudinally exreceive or fit over the inwardly projecting bead 23 at the bottom of the member 5 into which extends the upper edge -of the glass plate 6. The traveling member 21 has two pairs of anti-friction rollers or wheels 24' mounted in suitable recesses in the sides of the slot 22 so as to project into the same and bear a ainst the parallel sides of the bead 23. ile the rollers on one side of said bead are mounted on short spindles or pins 25, those on the opposite side thereof are similarly mounted on the end portions of arms 26 provided by a pair of relatively ea more or less resilient wires which extendlyownwa'rdly from the traveling member through a slot 27 formed in the underside ofthe top frame member 5 and carryin at their lower ends a transverse in or'spin le 28 on which is pivoted a cleaning bar 29. The latter is preferably of such length as to extend from the top to the bottom of they pane of glass 6 to whose surface it is substantiallyperpendicular and against which it is at all times yieldingly pressed by the spring arms 26. For this purpose the latterl are preferably formed with one or more coils 30.

Mounted in 'an opening 31 in the side of the traveling member 21 is a cylindrical piece 32 having a projecting tooth 33 designed to coact with the threads of the diamond screw 16 and this is more or less loosely held in said opening 31 by a pin 34 so as to be free to oscillate to a limited extent. The tooth 33 so coacts with the thread of the diamond screw 16 that when the latter is rotated by the motor 19 through the gears 18 and 17' ot tooth, the piece 32 and the traveling archer 21 are caused to travel longitudinaay upon the screw 'i6 and in its lower face to when the tooth 33 has reached the end of the latter, it follows the thread so that its direction of motion is reversed so that the traveling member 21 is caused to move toward the opposite end of said screw which has a similar construction and action.

With the above described arran ement of parts when current is supplied to t e electric motor 19, the rotation of the shaft 15 thereby continuousl in one direction causes the traveling mem er 21 and with it the cleaning bar 29 to be continuously reciprocated from one -end to the other of the glass sheet 6, it being understood that the threaded body of the shaft 15 has such a length and is so positioned in regard to said glass plate that the cleaning member 29 is moved as above described practically from one end to the other of thev wind shield. Obviously the other may be angularly adjusted with relation to the frame members 2--3 without in any way affecting the operativeness of the yapparatus above described, since the shaft 15 is concentric with the trunnions 10-11. The constant reciprocation of the vertically extending v'cleaner bar 29 speedily removes any sleet, rain, dust,l or other material falling on orl driven against the surface of the windshield glass.`

If for any reason it should be desired that the cleaner should operate on a more" or less limited area of the wind shield instead of moving from one end to the other thereof, I may reverse the direction of movement of the traveling member 21 at any of a number of points by providing on the frame member 5 one or two dogs or stops such as the pins 40. lThese are threaded into any of 'a number of openings in the member 5 in such positions as to enga e a lug 41 formed integral with or connecte to the tooth carrying piece 32 and each of said pins has a flattened or other suitably formed head 42 to permit of its convenient manual operation. vThese pins are preferably placed adjacent the limits of the desired path of movement of the cleaning member and as the traveling member 21 approaches one of said pins the dial 41 of its tooth carrying piece '32 strikes said in, causing said ieee to be axially turned` t rough an angle etermined by the lost motion permitted by the pin 34 so that the inclination of the tooth 33 is changed suiiciently to cause it to travel back in the groove of the diamond screw 16.

When the traveling member approaches the other end of its path of movement, its direction of motion is reversed either at one end of the groove of the diamond screw or it may be reversed by reason of the dial 41 striking the second pin 40, whereupon the piece 32 1s suticiently turned to cause the tooth to again reverse in the groove of said screw. By this means the path of movement of the traveling member with the cleaning moonen@ element may be varied es desired and the area of the wind shield operated on may be positioned et any part of the glass desired.

l claim:

1. 'llie combination of e wind shield lieving e hollow frame member formed with n longitudinally extendin slot; n traveling member mounted in sai treme member; n motor; mechanism driven from said motoi for reciprocating said traveling membei in the lifeline membei' n cleaning member operative on the windshield, one or more spring elements connected to the cleaning membeiw end extending thi'ongli the slot of i the freine member and connected to the traveling member for tiensmittin movement therefrom to the cleaning mem er.

2. The combination of a sup orting treme, e Windshield including e ollow 'treme memliei' pivotally snp rted on seid treme, e motor mounted on t e support' fiireme, n eenen ebelt mounted coexinll hollen1 frame, menne operative y co @ting the elielt to the motor, e cerfmege feci-pirocated on seid elicit, n cleaning element for the glass of the windshield carried by said carriage by means extending through an elongated slot in the hollow frame member, and a device for reveising the direction of movement of the cleaning member.

3. ln e Windshield cleaner, the combinetion of n lined supnoi'ting frame having e horizontal top memoei: formed with n concave ieee; e wind shield having n hollow top treme formed with e cylindricnlly curved ontei i'tion end pivotnlly snprted by tlie ed freine with seid cyliniionll cni'ved portion fitting tlie concave ieee t creol; e movable oni-ringe guided within the to frame of the wind elneld; e cleaning mem or connected to the cemiege through en elongated slot in the treme end engeging tlie glass oil tlie `Wind shield; end means toi neclproceting the cni'i'fiege in the top immo member ol tlie Wind Shield to cause the cleaning member to loe moved oven the gloss.,

S. NGJNAN. 

